Out of Sight, But Not Out of Mind

Blue Lady

Rating: PG13
Genres: Romance, Humor
Relationships: Draco & Ginny
Book: Draco & Ginny, Books 1 - 5
Published: 11/01/2005
Last Updated: 24/06/2005
Status: completed

When a spell backfires and Ginny accidentally mind-bonds herself to Draco, she decides to have some fun - especially since Draco hasn't a clue as to just who it is he's bonded to!

Chapters

1. Chapter I

2. Chapter 2

3. Chapter 3 Part I

4. Chapter 3 Part II

5. Chapter 4

6. Chapter 5

1. Chapter I

Out of Sight, But Not Out of Mind
by Blue Lady

Summary: When a spell backfires and Ginny accidentally mind-bonds herself to Draco, she decides to have some fun - especially since Draco hasn't a clue as to just who it is he's bonded to! D/G, H/Hr and R/Lu on the side.

Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter.

Author's Note: I was digging around in my folder of storylines and then I stumbled onto this story... I'm planning on this to be one of my shorter fics, that is, nowhere near the length Off-Limits is turning out to be.....but then you never know. My intention though, is to keep this to only a few chapters so I can prove that I can actually finish a fanfic I write for once!! Anyways, hope you enjoy this fic and don't forget to leave a comment!

Chapter 1

"I want five rolls of parchment. This will be due next week. Any questions?" Professor Snape looked around the class for a minute before waving them away. "Dismissed."

"Five rolls of parchment! There goes my weekend. Stupid Snape and his stupid sodding assignments." Ginny Weasley grumbled inwardly as she walked out of the Potions Classroom. Thank goodness her other teachers decided to have mercy on her or she might be forced to choose to sacrifice Quidditch practise again because she wouldn't be able to get out of bed on time..

Still muttering to herself, she headed in the direction of the library. 'I might as well get some work done before dinner...' she thought and then she grimaced, 'Now I'm starting to sound like Hermione! I wonder if that's suppose to be a good thing...'

So absorbed was she in her thinking, she failed to notice a foot sticking out in front of her before it was too late...

CRASH!

Ginny lurched forward as her Potions textbook went flying. Groaning from the impact, she shook her head and saw a pair of polished black shoes came into her sight. As her gaze travelled up, she recognized the familiar coat of arms belonging to Slytherin house and icy gaze that a pair of familiar grey eyes were now directing at her.

Draco Malfoy had been looking for an opportunity to Ron Weasley back for that jib he made in Care of Magical Creatures, so what better way to do it than to annoy his precious sister? No doubt the girl will soon go crying to her brother and Potter and then he can have some fun....

"Can't you watch where you're going, Weasley?" scowled Draco, "You almost got my shoes dirty."

Ginny picked herself up and gave him a condescending look, “Don’t worry Ferret-Boy, it suits you.”

Draco's cheek took on a faint tinge of pink at the hated nickname. "Very brave, Weasley." he sneered, "So what are you going to do? Run to your precious Potter?"

"Oh sod off, Malfoy." grumbled Ginny as she retrieved her Potions book. As she walked pass him, she gave him a rough shove, causing Draco to stumble a bit.

Draco glared at the retreating back as he dusted himself off.

'This isn't over yet, Weasley.'

***************************************

Finally seating down at a table to start on her essay, Ginny looked at the thick books she had placed down beside her. Potent d'amour: All about Love Potions.

Placing her head in her hands, Ginny groaned inwardly. Just reading through this book would take her half a day at least. But all the other familiar potions only had a limited amount of information and that would definitely not be enough for a report that was five rolls of parchment. Besides, this would be easier because she had already done a report on it for DADA last year.

Sighing, she reached into her bag for her quill and piece of parchment when a shadow suddenly appeared in front of her.

"This is pathetic, Weasley." sneered a familiar voice.

Ginny rolled her eyes, "Don't you have anything else better to do besides insult me?" she asked the blond coldly.

"What’s the matter, Malfoy?" Ginny asked mockingly, “Can’t afford a life?”

Draco ignored the last sentence, "Weasley, I know you worship Potter, but love potions?! How desperate can you be?"

Ginny flushed and then she slowly raised her head to meet Draco's gaze, "This is for a Potions assignment, you annoying prat." she said through gritted teeth. Mentally she debated whether or not to chuck the heavy textbook at his head.

"Excuses, excuses." said Draco breezily, "Well, I guess it would be entertaining to see a lovesick Potter following you around - if you can figure out how to brew one. Last time I heard, Potions wasn't exactly your best subject."

"Get the hell away from me, Malfoy." said Ginny, rubbing her temple, "I'm not in the mood for your taunts today."

"No," drawled Draco, pulling out a chair, "I think I feel like staying."

Ginny groaned, "Can't you go and make someone else's life miserable for a change?"

"And deprive myself of my favorite victim?"

Ginny stared at him. "Isn't Ron your favorite victim? Or Harry or Hermione?"

"Well, they aren't exactly around at the moment."

"Thanks. Did I mention what an absolute honour is it to have your slimy presence hanging around me?" she said sarcastically.

"So the Weaselette has a voice after all. Finally got over your hero-worship of Potter?"

"Malfoy, can you please get lost?"

"Gin," Draco leaned closer, "Can you blame me if I like talking with you?"

Ginny's breath caught in her throat as Draco moved his face closer. What was he doing? Was he going to kiss her? Wait a minute, this was Draco Malfoy! However, her eyes fluttered shut involuntarily, but after a moment of waiting, she opened her eyes again to see the trademark smirk appear on his face.

"I don’t kiss girls with fizzy red hair. Sorry to disappoint you, Weasley."

Ginny's mouth dropped open before anger took her. "I wouldn't kiss you if you were the last man alive on this planet." she hissed.

"Sure didn't look like it a minute ago," replied Draco breezily.

"You stuck-up, arrogant-"

"It's not my fault you're so gullible...or should I say desperate?" Draco said smoothly, "And I think I've had enough fun today. Don't spend too much time dreaming about me, Weasley!" he laughed and turned around, walking towards the entrance.

However, Ginny had reached the end of her patience today. Grabbing her wand off the table, she pointed it straight at Draco's retreating back. "Praesentia concateno." she hissed and a thin red beam of light shot towards Draco. The beam of light hit his back, but his step never faltered as he disappeared from view. Hermione had taught her that spell last week when she had been learning about various curses and hexes which affected the mind. This one allowed whomever casted the spell to give the victim a painful migraine simply by reciting a particular phase.

A grin appeared on Ginny's face. "You better watch out, Malfoy, or I might just time that migraine in the middle of the Ravenclaw-Slytherin match...although that might deprive me of the opportunity to see Harry kick your sorry ass when Gryffindor goes up against Slytherin..."

Her moment of victory was short-lived as her gaze fell back on her Potions assignment, and she wearily sat back down to finish her report.

************************************

Three hours and seventeen minutes later, Ginny trudged out of the library with her books and made her way towards the Great Hall for dinner. At least her report was finally done; one less piece of homework for the weekend.

"At least now I can test out that new curse I just placed on Malfoy!" and with this thought, her mood improved considerably. It wasn't everyday that she got a chance to strike back at the so-called Prince of Slytherin.

At the bottom of the stairs, she ran into a familiar looking face. "Hey, Luna!" Ginny smiled at the blond, "Where were you during History of Magic?"

"Ronald wanted to show me something..." Luna sighed dreamily.

"And that's all the information I'll need," Ginny pretended to shudder as she grabbed ahold of Luna's arm and steered her towards the Gryffindor table, "There's only so much a sister should know about her brother."

Ginny coughed loudly as she noticed Harry exploring Hermione's mouth again. Didn't those two ever stop?

Hermione quickly jerked back, but Harry didn't seem all that willing, until he spotted Ginny standing behind Hermione with Luna, wearing an expression halfway between amusement and exasperation.

"Oh, uh, hey Ginny!" he said, trying to cover up any discomfort he might have felt at being caught, which amused the redhead to no end. He did realize that he was snogging Hermione in plain view of everyone in the Great Hall, didn't he?! But, Ginny pursed her lips, this was Harry Potter and in these matters, he was also well-know for being notoriously dense.

Hermione just rolled her eyes before she moved over to give Ginny and Luna some room.

Ginny grinned at Hermione, "I finally got a chance to try out one of those curses you taught me last week."

The brown-haired prefect raised an eyebrow, "Technically I should be deducting points off for this, but since I'm as guilty as you are," a matching grin appeared on her face, "Who's the lucky victim?"

"Ferret-Boy."

"I can't wait to see this!" cut in Harry, "What did you curse him with?"

"The migraine spell." smirked Ginny. Suddenly, she froze as something seemed to tug on her mind.

"Ginny?" Luna asked in concern, waving a hand in front of her face.

Ginny snapped out of it. "Nothing..." she abruptly changed the subject, "Let's eat. I'm famished."

***********************************

"...Whew! Finally got rid of her. I swear, Father will have to see things my way once he gets an idea of how badly mutilated the Malfoy genes will be if that ever happens. Dear Merlin...." Ginny was in the middle of a game of wizard chess with Ron when the voice first appeared inside her head.

Her mouth fell open, but no sound came out. Ron gave her a curious look. "Ginny?"

However, she just looked ahead unseeingly. "Malfoy…"

Ron blinked before a scowl appeared on his face. "What about the sodding prat?"

"Did I just imagine that?" thought Ginny in bewilderment. She could have sworn that she had just heard Draco's voice in her mind. Out loud all she said was, "He was just being a pain in the arse today."

That was enough to send Ron straight into over-protective brother mode. "When?" he demanded, "Did he hurt you? What did he do? Do you want me and Harry to beat him up?"

His sister just shrugged it off, "He was just being himself," she gave him a meaningful look, "Besides, I'm a big girl. I can handle him."

"All the more reason to end his miserable life," muttered her brother.

"Nobody's stopping you," pointed out Ginny.

"They'll probably name a day in your honor just for that," added in a new voice.

"Harry!" Hermione slapped his arm, "Be nice."

"Mione! This is Malfoy we're talking about!" he protested.

Hermione gave him an arch look. "Why do you think I taught Ginny all those curses for?"

Harry took this as another opportunity to give his girlfriend a long, lingering kiss.

****************************************

TBC

2. Chapter 2

Out of Sight, But Not Out of Mind

By Miranda Aurelia (Blue Lady)

Summary: When a spell backfires and Ginny accidentally mind-bonds herself to Draco, she decides to have some fun - especially since Draco hasn't a clue as to just who it is he's bonded to!

Author's Note: Thanks to everyone for their support! For those of you that wanted a longer fic, there's always the possibility of a sequel if this fic turns out okay - which hopefully, it does! As usual, Harry Potter belongs to the talented JKR.

Chapter 2

Ginny didn't give anymore thought to the voice she had heard last night, which had sounded eerily like Malfoy - and that was more than enough incentive to forget about it.

However, this would last only until Quidditch practise that afternoon...

Ginny had just tossed the Quaffle to Karen when she spotted the a group of Slytherins heading onto the field.

Apparently Harry had noticed as well, because he immediately zoomed downwards on his Firebolt towards the Slytherin team.

By the time Ginny had arrived with the rest of the Gryffindors, Harry and Draco were engaged in another arguement, it seemed, about who had the right to use the field this afternoon.

"We booked it first, Malfoy." Harry said coldly.

"And we got special permission from Professor Snape. The Ravenclaw-Slytherin game is coming up and that supercedes-"

"You're going to lose anyways, so why bother?" Ron called out as he landed on the spot besides Harry.

Draco snorted, "Then I suppose nobody saw your staring contest with Looney in the middle of a game which almost cost your team the last game against Hufflepuff?" he finished with a sneer.

"Malfoy, do you have to be such a pain in the arse?" Ginny hadn't intended to say that out loud, and a blush appeared on her face when everyone's eyes immediately fastened onto her.

"Potter, you have such devoted groupies," here, a glint appeared in Draco's eyes as he turned to Ginny, "It's a shame that Potter's too head over heels for Granger to appreciate the effort you make on his behalf."

Ginny looked confused. “What are you talking about?”

"I'm simply refering to your futile project, Weasley."

"I've told you a million times already!" A tinge of scarlet appeared on Ginny's face, "It's for Potions, you stupid prat!"

Meanwhile, Ron was starting to lose his patience, not to mention it seemed that his little sister was keeping something from him.... "What are you two talking about?!"

Ginny turned on him. "None of your business!"

However, her brother chose to misinterpret this, "Ginevra Weasely-"

"Hey! He's the one-" Ginny pointed angrily at Draco, "-that you're supposed to be yelling at here!"

"Ginny," Ron ignored her previous comment, "Are you sneaking around with Malfoy?!"

Ginny stared at her brother, her jaw dropping open. “Ron, are you crazy?!” She finally managed to splutter.

“Stating the obvious now, aren’t we, Weasley?”

"Shut up Malfoy!" Both Ginny and Ron yelled at the blond.

"Sure, gang up on the innocent bystander. Is it my fault that Ginevra here finds me so damn attract-"

"Silencio!" It was so sudden that Draco didn't even have time to duck before Ginny's curse hit him straight on.

"Bloody hell Weasley!" Ginny gasped as Draco's voice sounded in her mind.

The color slowly disappeared from Ginny's face as she continued looking at the blond, a shell-shocked expression on her face. Meanwhile, one of Draco's teammates finally managed to perform the counter-curse.

"What the hell was that for?" spat Draco angrily, rubbing his throat.

However, Ginny just started backing away slowly from the two teams before she turned and ran.

"Ginny! Where are you going?!" yelled Ron. However, his sister didn't bother replying.

There was a moment of silence on the pitch before Harry spoke up, "So where were we again?"

*****************************************

"Hermione!" Ginny burst into the warm Gryffindor common room, her breath coming out in short pants as she scanned the area for signs of her brown-haired friend.

Meanwhile, Hermione had been throughly engrossed in a particularly difficult arithmacy question when she found Ginny tugging on her arm urgently. Seeing the worried look on Ginny's face and knowing that Harry and his team were practising this afternoon, Hermione immediately assumed the worse. "Has something happened to Harry?!"

"No!" Ginny took a deep breath, "No, he's fine. It's just me."

"What's wrong?" Hermione asked in concern.

The redhead grew silent. "I don't know if I'm starting to go crazy..." she paused, "I think I can hear what Malfoy is thinking."

"What?!"

"It's probably just me though..." continued Ginny wearily.

"When did this start?" interrupted the other girl.

Ginny thought for a second. "I would say yesterday..." she said quietly, "Remember when I spaced out last night? That was the first time. Then Quidditch practise today...he was arguing with Harry again, I started yelling at him, and then he said something and I yelled back at him...then I realized that he hadn't said it out loud..." She buried her head in her hands, "Tell me I'm not going crazy, Hermione! Tell me!"

"You're not going crazy," said Hermione firmly, "But tell me, did you come into contact with Malfoy at all yesterday?"

"Of course! That stupid prat was bugging me and I threw that curse at him-"

"What were the words you used?"

"Praesentia concateno..." Ginny hesitated, "Why?"

A look of understanding seemed to come over Hermione's face before she hurried towards the stairs leading to the girls dorms. "Let me go get my book," She threw over her shoulder as she rushed up the stairs.

Ginny continued to stare at her hands as heavy footsteps sounded on the stairs and Hermione returned, rapidly flipping through the bookmarked pages.

"You're sure that your exact words were Praesentia concateno?" Hermione said, still flipping through various pages.

"Yes."

Hermione only nodded as she finally found the page that she wanted. Sliding a finger slowly down the page, she said softly, "The spell you were meaning to cast on him was Praesentia iniuria."

"So what does Praesentia concateno do?" Ginny asked, even though she had a pretty good idea of what the answer would be.

"It creates a temporary mind bond between the caster and the person it was directed at."

Ginny groaned, "I am so dead. So does this mean that Malfoy can hear everything I'm thinking as well?"

"Actually it depends." Hermione's brow furrowed, "The book doesn't go into too much detail, but it seems that both people can only hear the other person's thoughts when their mind is unoccupied or if it was their intent for the other person to hear it..."

A look of horror appeared on Ginny's face. "So that means while I'm sleeping in History of Magic, Malfoy can hear every one of my thoughts?"

"It would appear so, but while you can shield your thoughts from him, he can't shield his unless he knows what spell this is," here Hermione gave her a cheeky smile, "And this book here just happens to be the only copy in the entire library."

***************************************

That night, Ginny found herself turning in bed restlessly. Apparently the bond was growing stronger because she could hear even more snippets of Malfoy's thoughts than before.

Hermione had told her that this bond only lasted for about two weeks, at which it would then the connection would start fading. However, it was only in extremely rare cases that the bond strengthened over time. The other girl had wanted to explain more, but Ginny hadn't felt like pondering the prospect of sharing a mind-bond with Malfoy for the rest of her life.

Ron had asked her why she had ran off so abruptly that afternoon instead of using that migraine curse she had thrown at Malfoy earlier. Ginny hadn't felt like disclosing her mistake, so she told her brother as much of the truth as she could without mentioning the part about the bond.

She rolled onto her side and then squeezed her eyes shut in frustration. Of all people, she had to bond herself to Malfoy?! Why couldn't she have cursed someone she actually liked?!

At least Hermione had managed to provide her with the mind-shielding spell. Ginny burrowed deeper into the covers - she would be absolutely mortified if Draco could hear her thoughts.....

.....but since she could hear his, couldn't she use that to her advantage....say, a bit of blackmail?

A look of glee soon spread across Ginny's face as she contemplated this. As she finally drifted off to sleep, her last thought was that maybe being mind-bonded to Draco Malfoy wasn't such a bad thing after all.

*************************************

3. Chapter 3 Part I

Out of Sight, But Not Out of Mind

By Miranda Aurelia (Blue Lady)

Harry Potter does not belong to me....but this storyline does; may woe and large boulders befall anyone that steals it!! First of all, thank you for all you kind comments. Also, as some of you may know, I'm also a Star Wars fanfiction nut, so if this bond between Draco and Ginny starts to act a bit like a Jedi mind-bond...well...that's why. (No, this does not mean that HP and Co. will now be flying through the air and bombing Yuuzhan Vong or some other weird alien race bent on taking over the universe....besides, cross-overs really aren't my forte.) Oh yeah...I was going to put the thoughts between Draco and Ginny in italics....but then that font started giving me a headache...hope nobody minds.

And after that bit of totally random rambling......

Chapter 3

Ginny hummed to herself as she got ready to go down to breakfast. The idea of knowing Draco Malfoy's secrets seemed to get better and better as she thought about it. Her good mood continued as she took her seat beside Hermione in the Great Hall for breakfast.

"Well, someone seems to be unusually cheerful this morning." commented Rosie Fleetstar, a brown-haired Gryffindor in Ginny's year.

"In fact, I'd say she's almost glowing." teased Medga Annesley, another student in their year.

"Don't be silly," said Ginny, but she couldn't keep the grin off her face as she talked to her inquiring roommates, "I'm just...happy today."

"Is it a boy?"

"Uh...." Ginny flushed. Yes, she was thinking about Draco, but not that way! "Why would I be this happy over a guy?"

"You finally found your one and only love...?" said Rosie innocently.

"Well, if I'd found him, I'd be snogging him in some broom closet right now instead of sitting here talking to you two," Ginny shot back, "Don't you think so?"

"Just teasing, Ginny." Rosie said as she reached for the orange juice beside Megda. "Seriously though, I've never seen you in such a good mood so early in morning."

"You might as well enjoy it then," said Ginny with an evil smile, "Because I'll make sure to be especially moody and bad-tempered tomorrow!"

"You're so funny...NOT."

***************************************************

Ginny had expected most of his thoughts to be evil, negative and mostly about his huge ego...not to mention his vanity. This is why she was surprised to discover that the ferret actually had a brain!

She made a note to herself to start jotting down some of his thoughts for use later on. After all, you never knew when some things might come into use.

By the end of the day, she had the following list:

DM Information List

1. He hates Harry.

2. He hates Ron.

3. He's allergic to cat hair;

Ginny made a note to herself to ask Hermione if she can borrow Crookshanks for awhile or find a way to lock Mrs. Norris in his room.

also possible allergy to Pansy Parkinson

At least that what's Ginny deducted from the amount of thoughts Draco seemed to have on avoiding the Slytherin girl.

4. Personal Mantra is not "I am evil."

She sighed. It was a good guess though....

5. Has a theory that Crabbe and Goyle are half-giant and half-idiot.

Ginny snickered at this one.

6. Spends almost as much time doing his hair as Lavender and Parvati

"Why am I not surprised?" thought Ginny, refraining from rolling her eyes.

7. Thinks Ron and Luna are a match made in heaven – apparently he thinks they're both nutters and they even seem to be able to stand each other!

8. Likes Strawberry Ice Cream

Here Ginny's eyes widened. "You can't be serious," she muttered to herself, "I can't believe I actually have something in common with the ferret."

9. Doesn't like pumpkin pie.

10. He thinks that Hermione secretly has a crush on him and apparently, she's now in denial because she's dating Harry.

Here Ginny rolled her eyes. Alot of girls might like that dark, brooding "Bad Boy" image he projected, but she was sure her bushy-haired friend wasn't one of them!

11. He hates Harry.

"That guy has a lot of hate." thought Ginny sardonically.

12. Thinks Lydia E. Rolsen-Fowler has a nice butt.

Ginny didn't personally know Lydia, but she recalled seeing the Hufflepuff girl strutting around the hallways between classes. "Yup," thought Ginny wryly, "Draco and her would probably be a match made in heaven." Then she made a face as she thought of Draco and Lydia's possible offspring. "Scratch that thought. I don't even want to imagine what their children will be like!"

And most surprising of all, bordering on sacrilegious (well, in Draco's mind anyway)

13. He wasn't sure whether or not Voldemort really was this powerful dark lord or a deranged freak with a serious skin problem with the ability to brainwash a lot of people

Apparently the Malfoy family wasn't as loyal as they would have others believe, Ginny noted with some surprise as she scribbled some more notes down. This could come in handy later on.

*******************************************************

Ginny hadn't planned on communicating with Malfoy through the mind bond so soon, but this was before she spied him heading downstairs at the end of her evening rounds. Tim Shumberry from Hufflepuff was also supposed to be patrolling with her, but he had ended up in the middle of a fight between his brother and two Slytherins at the last minute, effectively landing him in the hospital wing with an extra arm growing out of his forehead.

Glancing down the stairs leading to the main entrance, she was surprised to see Draco Malfoy downstairs – heading in the direction opposite of the dungeons.

“Where do you think you're going?” Ginny thought.

Immediately following her thought, Draco stumbled, but since he was already two steps from the bottom, he just ended up flailing his arms to no avail as he slipped and landed with a smack onto his butt. He gave off a stream of curses while furtively looking around for the source of the voice.

"I could have sworn that I heard a voice...." Draco's voice sounded in her mind.

That was when she realized that she had inadvertently contacted Draco using their new bond.

Ginny looked down as he disappeared from sight. Deciding to take advantage of the bond, she mentally thought, "Oh Drackie..."

Draco's response was almost instantaneous. “Damnit, I knew I should have stopped breathing when I passed by Longbottom's cauldron in Potions! Now I'm hearing voices in my head calling me Drackie!" Ginny bit her lips to stop her laughter as Draco’s panicked thoughts reached her. "Dear Merlin, I’m too good-looking to go crazy!”

“Calm down Drackie...” She grinned evilly, “Now, be a good boy and sacrifice a few goats for me, hmm?”

“This is not happening.”

“Sorry to disappoint you, Drackie darling, but facing reality is an important step in curing any mental illness.”

“I give up. Who the bloody hell are you?!” Draco finished the last sentence in an angry roar.

Ginny smirked, “I’m the all-seeing, supreme, knowledgeable-“

“Spit it out already,” cut in Draco, his fear giving way to anger.

"I'm your conscience,” Ginny thought and then she added snidely, “Smart child.”

"Conscience?!" Draco seemed enraged, "I don't need a bloody conscience!"

"Well," Draco could almost see the smirk on the other person's face, "You don't have a say in this, now, do you? Or should that be thought?"

"You're so funny I feel like throwing myself off a cliff." Draco thought irritably.

"Well, don't let me stop you." replied the annoying voice.

"WHO ARE YOU?" he roared mentally and he felt a sense of satisfaction when he heard the girlish voice wince, "Sorry, was that too loud?" he asked sweetly.

"YES!"

Now it was Draco's turn to clutch his head in agony. "Don't yell!"

"Sorry, was that too loud?” the other voice replied sweetly using his exact words. "Did I hurt Drackie's delicate ears?"

“You act like a three year old, you know that?” Draco snapped.

The other voice snorted. “And you don’t?”

“No.” Draco sniffed, “Never.”

“You have got to be kidding me!” exclaimed Ginny.

"What would you know?" sneered Draco, "You're probably just an ignorant first-year who has nothing to do with their life!"

"First year?" Ginny rolled her eyes, "I could be a sixth year for all you know."

"Nah, I think you must be one of those fourth year Ravenclaws that can't seem to stop swooning whenever I pass by in the hallway." Ginny could almost see the arrogant smirk on his face and she resisted the urge to gag.

"So they're fainting from the sheer...uh, how can I put this nicely....grotesque nature of your facial features?" asked Ginny innocently and then she added sarcastically "Or perhaps it's your winning personality."

"Get the bloody hell out of my head."

"Whatever you say, Drackie."

"And quit calling me that!"

"Maybe if you ask nicely." Ginny ignored Draco's rude reply.

*************************************************************

Over the next couple of days, Ginny gleefully barged in on Draco's thoughts whenever she was so inclined while the blond could only curse under his breath. One day his blasted conscience started singing the latest Weird Sisters song in the middle of his Transfiguration test.

"Can you shut up already?!" Draco finally lost his patience.

"Why? I can sing something else if you don't like Crazy and in Love."

"Are you trying to imply something?" snapped Draco.

"Am I?"

There was a pause and Ginny took that opportunity to sing a few more bars of the song.

"What part of Shut Up don't you understand, you annoying bint?"

"What part of I Don't Care don't you understand?" Ginny cut off Draco's retort, "But I'm feeling nice today, so I'll leave you in peace for the remainder of your test. Bug you later, Drackie!" she grinned.

A murderous look appeared momentarily on Draco's face before a bottle of ink belonging to the Hufflepuff sitting two rows over suddenly exploded, leaving the unfortunate student covered in black ink.

Draco glanced over nonchantently at his handiwork as Professor McGonagall attended to the poor ink-splattered student. "Now that's better."

***********************************************************

To be honest, Chapter 3 is supposed to be waaaaaaay longer than this, but with all these exams during these past few weeks, I'm finding it hard to finish it! Hopefully I can complete Part II over Spring Break and have it posted by early April!! Sorry for keeping all of you wariting and thanks for the comments!! Keep them coming! :D

4. Chapter 3 Part II

Out of Sight, But Not Out of Mind
By Miranda Aurelia (Blue Lady)

Yup, I'm back! What took me so long? Blame writer's block and bubbletea. I swear, bubbletea is EVIL...well, that or I'm allergic to the stuff, which is kind of ironic in a sense...

Yes, I know I said that Part II would come out in early April, but Part II is way longer than what I usually write so I hope that makes up a bit for my lateness...

Chapter 3: Part II

Ginny grinned as she attached the piece of paper to the leg of one of the school owls. "Send this to Mr. Filch, okay?"

The brown owl gave her a hoot before it spread it wings and flew off.

The smile lingered on Ginny's lips as she slowly made her way down from the Owlery. Now if she could somehow convince Peeves to do the honors of dumping the water on the unsuspecting victims without ratting on her, it would be perfect!

A giggle escaped her lips - she couldn't wait to see the look on Draco Malfoy's face when Filch got ahold of him! "That'll teach the smarmy prat not to flirt with that giggling airhead in front of me." she thought.

****************************************************

Sometime later in Argus Filch's office

"Well, well, what do we have here?" Argus Filch spoke to Mrs. Norris as he looked at the piece of parchment that had just arrived. "It seems that the troublemakers in the castle are getting even stupider!"

The parchment was a note from "Dragon" telling "Blue-Eyes" to meet him at the Astronomy Tower at midnight.

"Well, then we won't disappoint them now, will we?" He continued, "Now, to think of a suitable punishment...Hmm, I believe the trophy room needs some scrubbing..."

****************************************************************

Later that night...

"What took you so long?" demanded Draco.

The dark-haired Ravenclaw in front of him just pouted, "I needed some time to get ready and Jacie took my mascara again."

Half of Draco's face was obscured by the shadow so she couldn't see the raised eyebrow he had.

Meanwhile, from her hiding place nearby, under the invisibility cloak she'd borrowed from Harry, Ginny rolled her eyes. It was midnight for crying out loud and nevermind the fact that it was practically too dark to see anything clearly in here except it you were standing right next to the window... Besides, she had a feeling that Draco didn't really care whether or not Rana had fixed her makeup before their rendezvous.

"Oh Draco," Rana was saying, "It's so romantic!

"Yes," Draco wrapped an arm around her waist, "But I have other things I'd rather do."

Ginny made a face as the people in front of her began snogging. "For the love of Merlin," thought Ginny with disgust, "If Peeves doesn't get here soon, I'm going to do it myself."

A few seconds later, a bucket of cold water suddenly appeared above the couple. The redhead watched as the bucket wobbled precariously in the air above Rana's head for awhile before it finally tipped over.

Draco and Rana both jumped apart with a gasp as the water came pouring down on their heads. Ginny's hands immediately flew up to muffle the laughter that was threatening to erupt from her mouth.

"What the bloody-" Draco spluttered as Peeves finally appeared in front of them.

"Naughty, naughty children!" The ghost cackled before zooming off.

"I'm all wet!" wailed Rana as she looked at her soaked robes, "And my new shoes are ruined!"

"It's nothing a simple charm won't take care of," said Draco irritably, which just caused Rana to wail even more.

The blond just sighed before he performed the drying charms on them both. "There, good as new."

Rana stopped her wailing and looked at Draco admiringly, "Oh Draco," she gushed, "You're so clever."

Ginny resisted the urge to make a gagging noise.

Once Draco and Rana resumed what they had been doing before Peeves interrupted them, Ginny slowly made her way to the other side until she was right beside the door. Slowly opening the door a crack, she smiled when she heard a mewing sound. Mrs. Norris, no doubt. So Filch had received her note after all.

A short time later, the door to the Astronomy Tower flew open and the light from Filch's lantern shone directly onto the still-unaware couple.

When Draco realized that they had an audience, he pushed the Ravenclaw away from him so abruptly that she fell backwards and landed with a smack.

"OW! Draco! That hurt!!" screamed Rana.

"Indecent behaviour and sneaking out after hours." declared Filch with a satisfied smile, "30 points from Slytherin and Ravenclaw and detention for both of you!"

The look on Draco and Rana's faces were priceless.

Ginny chuckled to herself as she slipped out behind Filch's back, taking care to avoid tripping over Mrs. Norris.

**********************************************************

"I heard that someone got caught in the Astronomy Tower by Mr. Filch," Ginny smirked the next day, "Did you hear about that incident, Malfoy?"

"With the Dream Team rubbing it in my face all morning now, what do you think?!"

"So how is darling Raaana" Ginny deliberately drew out the other girl's name, "I hope she wasn't too traumatized."

"Why would she be?" Draco thought back irritably, "Students get caught by Filch all the time."

"Oh, my mistake," the redhead said in a sickingly sweet voice, "I always thought you were so clever. I assume that's why you didn't even notice the bucket of cold water that was floating above your head for an entire minute!"

"I was busy, alright!" snapped Draco before a something in her words occurred to him. "Wait a minute," he demanded, "How did you know about that bucket?!"

"Opps," thought Ginny to herself.

"You were the one that sent Filch up there." Draco's voice had gone dangerously soft.

"Who me?"

"Yes, you twit," growled Draco, "It's your fault I have to clean out the trophy room again!"

Ginny brightened, "And it really helps that half of those trophies have either Harry, Hermione or Ron's name on there, doesn't it?" she said cheekily.

"You exist for the sole purpose of making my life miserable, don't you?"

"Well, you should have seen the look on your face, Malfoy!" Ginny laughed as she recalled Draco's expression when Filch came in, "The deer-in-headlights look really doesn't suit you."

"What was the point of this anyways?" Draco suddenly asked, "Look, considering that I haven't hexed you into next year already for this cheap trick-"

"How?" interjected Ginny, "You don't even know who I am!"

Draco ignored her, "-so why does it seem like you have it out for me? I didn't do anything to you!"

"Nothing?! You're the one that subjected me to an entire hour of how, urgh, hot Rana is supposed to be! An entire hour of nothing but your perverted thoughts about a Ravenclaw who freaks out when her shoes get a bit wet!" Ginny huffed, "And now you're yelling at me for doing something about it?"

Draco's lips finally curved into a smirk, "I get it now. Someone's jealous. Well, if you wanted to snog, all you had to do was ask."

"You're the last person in this school I would want to snog," sniffed Ginny, "But the next time you're feeding a girl all that bullshit about her eye color, can you at least have the courtesy to stop thinking so damn loudly about her T and A?!"

************************************************************

Ginny raised an eyebrow as a stream of curses flowed over from Draco's end of the bond.

"Well, someone sure isn't a morning person," she commented mentally as she grabbed her book bag.

"Shut up you." snarled Draco, "The last thing I need right now is an annoying bint who doesn't know when to keep her mouth shut."

It only took a few more thoughts from Draco before Ginny managed to deduct what tragedy had befallen the mighty Draco Malfoy and when she did, she couldn't hold back a few giggles.

Draco Malfoy was freaking out because he had a pimple!

Draco must have sensed her amusement through their bond because it only served to make him even angrier than before.

"Is there something you find particularly amusing about my predicament?" he asked coldly.

"To be honest," Ginny giggled, "YES!"

"Bloody wonderful." thought Draco sourly, "Not only is the bint in my head annoying, but now I find out that she's a mental sadist as well."

"Only when it comes to you, darling." smirked Ginny and then she burst out laughing again, "I can't believe this! You act more like a girl than some of the girls in my dorm!"

"Being concerned with one's appearance is not the same as acting like a girl." sniffed Draco, "I assume that's the reason why you insist on annoying me night and day."

"Why? So I can ask you for beauty tips?" said Ginny sarcastically.

"No. Obviously no guy is willing to talk to you and that's why you've decided to make my life a living hell!" stormed Draco.

The voice in his brain fell silent and Draco suddenly felt a pang of regret for his outburst, but only for a moment.

"You really do have a bloated ego, don't you?" Ginny finally spoke after some time.

"I prefer to think of it as self-confidence."

"Oh really?" the voice took on a mischievous tinge, "Is it still possible with that huge zit smack in the middle of your forehead?"

"Shut up!"

Luckily, he discovered that the offending pimple could be covered if he brushed a lock of hair over his forehead the right way. However, his conscience was having a field day with this.

"I can't believe this!" Ginny burst out into another fit of giggles.

Draco scowled; he could almost envision his conscience rolling around on the floor, laughing.

In fact, Draco was so preoccupied with finding a way to get his conscience to shut up that he didn't even realize that said conscience had already disappeared a few minutes ago.

***********************************************************

"Waiting for Potter again, Weasley?" Ginny looked up in surprise as a familiar voice whispered into her ear. She immediately jerked away when she saw Draco's smirking face inches away from hers.

"Malfoy, don't you have anything better to do?" Ginny asked him with a tinge of annoyance, "I heard that cliff-jumping is very popular sport these days. You should try it."

"I'm hurt," drawled Draco, "Truly."

"That was the intention. So, what do you want, Malfoy?"

"Why?" Draco placed a hand on the wall beside her head, "Can't a guy talk to a pretty girl without her biting his head off?"

She stared at him.

"So," continued the blond, "Are you free tonight?"

Suddenly Ginny grinned and moved her face closer to his. When their lips were almost touching, she finally replied. "No."

The smirk on Draco's face fell away and was quickly replaced by a scowl.

"Do you honestly think that I'm going to fall for that a second time?" Ginny rolled her eyes, "And for your information, I'm waiting for Luna."

"What?"

"You asked me who I was waiting for," Ginny said slowly, as if she were talking to a five-year-old, "And I do believe there's a girl behind you trying to get your attention."

Draco looked behind, but there were only two first-years walking pass. When he turned back, Ginny was already walking away with Luna.

"By the way," Ginny called down the hallway with an evil grin, "Nice pimple, Malfoy!"

A pink flush appeared on his cheeks, but his sneer remained in place. "At least my hair isn't the color of rotten carrots," he finally managed to retort, but the redhead had already moved out of sight.

************************************************************

This continued over the next while and bit by bit, Ginny could feel their bond strengthening as she had started sensing a bit of his emotions in addition to his thoughts. However, she had a wary feeling that Draco might be sensing hers as well.

One day, she arrived at breakfast to see Harry, Hermione and Ron huddled over the Daily Prophet.

Peeking over Hermione's shoulder, she saw the flashing headline: DEATH EATER ATTACK IN DIAGON ALLEY: 2 DEAD, 7 INJURED.

"It's dreadful," the brown-haired witch was saying, "These Death Eaters aren't even human. They used perfectly innocent people as human shields! Can you believe it?"

"Well, Death Eaters were never known for their humanitarian efforts." said Harry dryly.

At that precise moment, a flurry of owls arrived in the Great Hall and Ginny watched as Draco's eagle flew over to its smirking owner.

Surprisingly, instead of the usual boasts and taunts that followed a Death Eater attack, she watched as Draco's expression rapidly darkened and without a word, he stood up abruptly and stormed out of the hall.

As if that weren't strange enough, Draco was nowhere to be seen for the whole day.

When she finally reached out for him through their bond later that afternoon, she was surprised to find that he seemed to be unusually subduced.

"Draco, what's wrong?" Ginny asked softly through their link.

"Leave me alone!"

She was a bit shocked when she heard his voice in her mind. He sounded so...lost.

"I just want to help you," she said gently.

"You can do that by getting the hell out of my mind so I can have some peace and quiet."

Ginny bit back a retort, but she wisely remained silent as she continued peering out the windows in the hallway for any sign of the blond Slytherin.

Draco must have sensed that she was there, because he growled, "Fine. My mother got injured in the Death Eater attack, you happy now?"

For once, Ginny couldn't think of a quick reply.

"Your mom? But how-"

"How would someone manage to attack Lucius Malfoy's wife?" Draco finished dryly, "Simple. She was shopping in Diagon Alley when the attack occurred and when the aurors showed up, some newbie Death Eater decides to grab her to use as a human shield"

That was only a tiny gasp before Ginny finally spoke up. "That's horrible."

"Father blasted that idiot into pieces on the spot." he said in a toneless voice, "Too bad he couldn't have done that before he grabbed her."

"So how is she right now?"

Draco looked gloomily across the field from his spot high up in one of the trees near the Forbidden Forest where the foliage provided shade from the scorching afternoon sun. "She's in St. Mungo's right now with a coma."

There was a moment of silence before Ginny finally spoke again. "Draco, I'm so sorry."

"There's no need to feel something you're not." Draco said sardonically, "I know you'll probably want to celebrate, so now that you've found out, can you go away already?"

"Quit pushing me away!" Ginny said exasperatingly, "Look, I meant what I said. I don't like innocent people getting hurt, no matter who they're related to."

Draco snorted, "Are you trying to convince me or yourself?"

"There's something else bothering you, isn't there?" Ginny said gently.

The blond remained silent for so long that she thought that she may have gone further than he was willing to talk about.

"You could say that," he finally said, "My father has always wanted me to follow in his footsteps, but I'm starting to think that maybe I don't really want to." Here he gave a mirthless chuckle, "In fact, I've been getting that feeling that even Father is a bit fed up with the Dark Lord these days."

"Then this incident happens," he continued, "And I guess it's forced me to see things in a new light."

"That perhaps being a Death Eater isn't all it's cut out to be?" Ginny couldn't resist saying a bit wryly.

"I knew that it wasn't going be a vacation," Draco shot back as he adjusted his position - he could sense his right leg starting to fall asleep, "Just because Voldemort is a delusional freak doesn't mean that eveyone else is as well."

"Why don't you leave them?" she exclaimed, "It's not as though you're being forced to become one."

"How naive can you get?" Draco stared hatefully into the distance, "Do you honestly think I have a choice?!"

The voice in his head paused. "Don't you?"

He was silent for a long time. "You realize that everyone in my house is going to make my life miserable for this when they find out?" He finally said.

"If they can't respect your choice in life, then I don't think that they're very good friends," sniffed Ginny.

"That's what everyone bloody says," he muttered darkly.

"They don't have to know about your, um, change in career plans," Ginny smiled, "It'll be our secret!"

Draco snorted, "And it'll be all over the school in a week."

"Malfoy! Are you saying that I can't keep a secret to myself?!" huffed the redhead.

"Yes."

"Well, I guess that's the reason why nobody knows about the time you shrieked like a girl because some first year accidently left their rubber snake on the couch in the common room last Christmas or the time when you were seven and you cried for hours because you accidently locked yourself in the undergroud storage room of Malfoy Manor for 15 minutes or-"

"I get the point." conceded Draco grudgingly, "Although I really don't know what I did to deserve this violation of my mind."

Ginny rolled her eyes impatiently, "Well, you could always stop thinking...or you can get someone to knock you out cold in case you can't. I'm sure I can find someone, no, scratch that, a whole lineup of people in this school who'll willing to punch you."

"You're exasperating, you know that?" However, a hint of a smile appeared on Draco's face.

"I try." Ginny grinned evilly, "However, I must admit that you've been my most interesting victim as of yet."

Draco just groaned.

***********************************************

No cliffhanger! :)

Also, some suggestions for what Draco calls Ginny when they're speaking through the mind bond?

5. Chapter 4

Out of Sight, But Not Out of Mind
By Miranda Aurelia (Blue Lady)

I know I took really long with the last chapter...don't abandon this fic yet people! I finished this chapter even soon than I expected so hopefully that'll make up for the long time that Chapter 3 Part II took. As always, thank you for all your words of encouragement and ideas. :)

And before I forget: Harry Potter belongs to J.K. Rowling, Warner Brothers, etc. This disclaimer also applies to all previous chapters in this fic.

Chapter 4

Their relationship, ("if it could be called that," thought Ginny wryly) seemed to improve much more after that particular incident.

Instead of being a nuisance, the bond had actually resulted in a comfortable friendship, although Draco would never admit that he liked talking to his "conscience".

****************************************

"And they're off!" shouted Dean Thomas as the Ravenclaw and Slytherin teams took off. Meanwhile, Ginny's eyes tracked the progress of a certain blond seeker....

"Draco, tell me a joke."

"Are you crazy?! I'm in the middle of a game here, in case you haven't noticed?!" Draco swerved sharply as he spotted the snitch near the bottom of a Hufflepuff stand.

"Don't kill yourself. I rather like you in one piece..."

"Do you now?" Ginny grimaced - she could almost see the arrogant smirk on his face.

"Nevermind. I forgot about that ego of yours.

"So you still won't tell me who you are?"

"You're a smart boy, you figure it out."

"Well, you sound like a girl, but you obviously can't be one."

"Why not?!" Ginny was indignant.

"Careful there, you almost sounded like this redhead I knew for a moment there. As for my previous comment, face it, girls fall over when I'm around. You haven't even attempted to seduce me yet so therefore you must be a guy, unless..."

"Don't even go there, Malfoy."

"Know what? You really do sound like Weasley, you know?"

Ginny quickly squelched the feeling of panic she could feel rising inside her. "Which one are you talking about?" she asked nonchantly.

"And you're calling me stupid..." Ginny heard Draco give the mental equivalent of a snort, "There's only one Weaselette."

"Hey! Don't call her that!"

"Why not?"

"She's my friend, you prat."

"Are you Lovegood?" Draco demanded, "Because if you are, what the hell are you thinking?! Ronald freaking Weasley?! What on earth could you possibly see in him besides a few vital organs?!"

"I'm not Luna, stupid."

"Thank Merlin."

"She's not that bad," said Ginny crossly, "She's really nice if you get to know her."

Draco snorted, "Well, if she's willing to put up with Weasley, she'd have to be really nice because she hasn't attempted to strangle him yet."

"What do you have against Ron?" wondered Ginny.

"Are you Granger?"

"Malfoy, I'm not going to answer anymore of your questions."

"So you are Granger! So Potter's not good enough for you, eh?"

"Draco," Ginny rolled her eyes, "Shut up."

"But you don't like Potter, right?" Ginny could have sworn that he sounded almost hopeful.

A thought suddenly occurred to her. "You like Hermione?!"

Draco almost fell right off of his broom. "Of course not!" he said indignantly.

Ginny just grinned. Wait until she told Hermione what she had found out! "Now, don't be shy. Having a crush on Hermione isn't such a bad thing."

"I don't like Granger." gritted out Draco.

"What a shame." Ginny cheered as the Ravenclaw keeper managed to block a quaffle from going through the hoop. "If you did, then you and Harry would actually have one thing in common! Now, wouldn't that be something to celebrate about?" she added cheekily.

"That reminds me," Draco looped around the Slytherin goalposts, "You never answered my question."

"Which one?"

"Do you like Potter?"

"Is that jealousy I sense in your voice?" teased Ginny.

Draco snorted, "You wish. I merely wanted to know if my bloody conscience is a Potter fangirl. I mean, if you're going to be in my head 24/7, you might as well do me the courtesy of removing yourself from any Scarhead fanclubs for the time being."

"And let my membership to the Harry Potter fan club lapse? Are you insane?!"

Draco remained silent and she could only watch as he suddenly entered a sharp dive towards the ground a few seconds later.

With the ground fast approaching and Draco showing no indication of changing his course, Ginny could feel herself starting to panic. "What are you doing Malfoy?!" she screamed mentally, "Malfoy! Pull up! I was just joking about Harry! I don't like him, alright?! Draco!"

"Draco!" she screamed as the blond continued on his dive.

With only a few meters left, Draco finally came out of his dive with the snitch in his hands. Ginny slowly released a breath she hadn't realized she had been holding and slumped back down onto her seat in relief.

"AND MALFOY'S GOT THE SNITCH! SLYTHERIN WINS 270-120!"

Across in the Slytherin stands, the crowds were cheering as the teams made their way back to the ground.

"Ginny, are you alright?" Hermione placed a hand on her shoulder, "You look a bit pale."

"I'm alright."

"I know. Malfoy must have given you quite a fright."

Ginny's eyes widened. "How-"

"You were yelling his name."

"What was that all about?!" Ron demanded, "Why in Merlin's name are you shrieking about Malfoy?"

Ginny felt like slapping herself. "Um..." She gave Hermione a pleading look, "Help me out here."

***************************************************************

Thankfully, Hermione managed to think up of a plausible explanation and Ginny was able to escape from any further questioning. As the Gryffindor students made their way down the stands, Ginny could feel her ears heating up judging from some of the whispers and raised eyebrows - just how many people had heard her yelling Draco's name? "How could I have been so careless?" she scolded herself mentally.

"Do you know how hard it is to concentrate with you yelling in my head?" asked an irritated, yet familiar voice.

A flood of relief came across Ginny before she screamed through their link so loudly that even Draco winced a bit, "Don't you ever do that again! You scared me so much, you overgrown prat!"

"I never knew you cared so much," drawled Draco a few seconds later.

Ginny stiffened, "Don't count on it."

"Why not? I mean, I seem to recall someone vowing to give up Potter just a few minutes ago, just for me." He smirked. "I'm touched."

"I thought you were mad at me," mumbled Ginny.

"No...I think I've gotten used to having you around, annoying as you are." Draco admitted a bit grudgingly.

"Who are you?" he demanded abruptly.

"Guess."

"Okay...." Draco trailed off for a moment. "Do you have brown hair?"

"No."

"Green eyes?"

"And you think I'm obssessed with Harry," muttered Ginny under her breath.

"You sure?"

"What is it with your obsession with green eyes?" huffed Ginny, "What's wrong with...I don't know, blue eyes?"

"Ah ha!" Draco crowed, "First real clue: the chick has blue eyes."

"Don't call me that."

"Why not?"

"Just...don't. It makes me sound like one of your fangirls."

"Fine babe," drawled Draco, "What do you want me to call you?"

"Urgh," Ginny shook her head, "Scratch that one as well."

"Would you rather have me call you Yapper instead?"

Ginny rolled her eyes, "If you want to name me after your dog."

"So-"

"No."

"Don't be so picky, Blue Eyes."

"I never said I had blue eyes."

Draco rolled his eyes, "Let's stop. This is getting juvenile and I'm getting a headache."

"Aw...does Drackkie want me to send Millicent down to help?" snickered Ginny, "Or perhaps you could get Rana to massage your poor head."

"Don't you dare, Blue Eyes." Draco scowled "That girl has the conversation skills of a lizard. That last thing I need right now is a complete description of that red blouse she saw in Hogsmeade last time."

"And yet you were the one locking lips with her only...a few weeks ago?"

"People aren't expected to conduct intelligent conversations in the middle of a good snogging session," said Draco crossly.

Ginny smirked, "But it would help if said snogging partner also had a few brains as well?"

"Are you offering?"

"Dream on, Malfoy."

"In my dreams, you actually say yes."

Ginny raised an eyebrow, "You dream about me?" she asked incredulously.

"Perhaps," muttered Draco.

"Oh." Ginny's lips curved into a small smile which remained there for the rest of the day.

***********************************************************

"I do believe that you've been staring at me for over five minutes already," Ginny froze as she heard Draco's drawl in her mind, "Your food's going to get cold soon."

A feeling of dread settled over her. So he finally found out.

"So you know who I am?" she asked lightly, mentally measuring the distance from the Gryffindor table to the doors before sneaking a glance at the Slytherin table.

"I can say that I've known for the past three days already." said Draco casually.

"Then why haven't you called me by my real name yet?" Ginny was a bit confused - Draco didn't seem to be looking at her. Instead, it seemed that he was currently looking towards the Ravenclaw table and she relaxed a little bit. He was probably just guessing.

"I thought you preferred Blue Eyes."

Ginny flushed, "That is not true!"

"Uh huh."

"Well, if you know who am I, then why are you still talking to me as though nothing's changed?" demanded Ginny.

"Well, it was surprising to discover that your identity - normally you and your groupies giggle so much when you see me in the hallway that it was really hard to picture you two as one person."

"I do not giggle every time I see you," thought Ginny irritably. Groupies? Now she knew he was guessing...or he thought that she was some other girl!

"But you can't exactly deny that you were staring at me right after the match." Draco smirked, "If I had known merely taking off my shirt was enough to make you swoon-"

"I have never fainted in my entire life," interrupted Ginny, "And unless I'm suffering from a massive loss of blood, I don't plan to either."

"You're still in denial," declared Draco.

"Wait a minute," demanded Ginny, " Are were even talking about me?"

"Of course we're talking about you," Draco rolled his eyes. "So Lydia, do you want to go with me to the next Hogsmeade outing?"

There was a long silence.

"YOU THINK I'M LYDIA BLOODY ROSEN-FOWLER?!" Draco winced as the girl he was bonded to shrieked over the bond. "DO I SOUND LIKE THAT AIRHEADED, ANEMIC, COW-BRAINED SNOB TO YOU?"

"It was just a guess," Draco said cautiously - he could still sense her anger through their bond. However, Ginny remained silent.

"Look, shouldn't you be happy that I guessed wrong?" The blond ran a hand through his hair in frustration, "I mean, I thought that you didn't seem all that relieved when I first brought up the topic."

There was no reply.

"Stop ignoring me already!"

"I was," Ginny finally replied a minute later, "But you ruined it."

Draco didn't know how to reply to this.

"Honestly...of all people....that snob...." Ginny was fuming internally, "How dense can you possibly be, Malfoy?"

"I'm sorry, alright?" Draco said irritably, "It was an honest mistake."

Ginny snorted.

"She does stare at me alot though," said Draco thoughtfully, "And she's always batting her eyelashes at me..."

"So anyone that looks at you and bats their eyelashes at you is automatically me?! What kind of twisted logic is that?" exclaimed Ginny. "The next thing I know, you'll be thinking that I'm Pansy!"

"Are you?"

"I would bang my head against the table, but that might give away my identity."

*******************************************************

"Honestly Draco," Ginny finally said, "If I'd had a huge crush on you, don't you think that things might have started differently?"

"You mean you would have been even more annoying?"

"You're treading on thin ice, Malfoy."

"Okay, fine," Draco gave her the mental equivalent of a shrug, "I can see what you're getting at. What you're trying to say is that you would have thrown yourself at me a long time ago."

"Uh......"

"Or maybe you just subscribe to a really weird form of flirting."

Ginny rolled her eyes. "I have never flirted with you, period."

"It's not too late to start," smirked Draco, "I know you have this huge crush on me."

Ginny gave a mental laugh, "You never give up, don't you?"

"Then why don't you tell me who you are?"

There was another pause following this.

"I can't."

"Why not?"

The girlish voice just sighed. "Because then you'll hate me again and I don't know what I'm suppose to do if that happens."

**************************************************

Don't forget to leave a comment! There's only one or two more chapters to go before Out of Sight is completed.

6. Chapter 5

Out of Sight, But Not Out of Mind
By Miranda Aurelia (Blue Lady)

Yup, this is the last chapter, so no worries about me throwing you another cliffhanger! I was kind of worried that it would take until mid-July to finish this, but that won't happen now! :D Anyways, thank you so much for all the wonderful comments and because I don't want to bore you with a mega-long author's note...

And yeah, I don't own Harry Potter.

Chapter 5

"Malfoy, leave that poor kid alone!"

"And why would I do that when I'm obviously having so much fun?" Draco smirked at the fuming redhead. Beside him, Crabbe dangled the terrified first year a few feet above the ground by the front of his robes.

"You're a prefect!" Ginny grounded out, "You're supposed to set a good example!"

"What the heck did I see in him again?" she thought to herself in exasperation. These were one of the times when she really thought that Draco was slowly reverting back to his former habits. Yes, it was true that they didn't insult each other anymore over the mind bond, but she should have known that it was highly unlikely that he would soon behaving like Harry!

Draco rolled his eyes and waved his hand. Seconds later, the first year landed on the ground with a thud.

"Are you alright?" Ginny asked the shaking first year. Sneaking a terrified glance at the Slytherins, the Hufflepuff could only nod mutely.

"Go on," she said gently, "I'll deal with them."

"And just how do you plan on doing so, hmm?" Ginny jerked back as she felt Draco's lips brush her ear. How did he manage to sneak up on her so quickly? And where on Earth had Crabbe and Goyle disappeared off to?!

"I'll tell McGonagall who was responsible for releasing those spiders in Transfiguration two weeks ago!" she hissed.

Draco merely smirked, "I never knew your brother could scream so high."

"That's not the bloody point!" she thundered, jabbing a finger at his chest.

He grabbed her wrist and pulled her flat against him. "Then perhaps you can enlighten me?" he murmured, his faces inches away from hers.

Ginny could only stare at him dumbly before she managed to snap out of it. "Let go of me, Malfoy!" She grounded out, pushing against him.

It was ironic, Ginny thought rather irrelevantly, how they always managed to invade each other's personal space during their frequent confrontations.

When his arms simply tightened around her, she looked up at him with an exasperated expression. "What-"

"GINEVRA WEASLEY! WHAT ARE YOU DOING?" roared a familiar voice down the hallway.

So that's what he was up to! Ginny shot Draco the iciest glare she could muster, while he, the infuriating jerk merely smirked. "Have fun." he whispered into her ear before abruptly releasing her and continuing down the hallway.

"What was that all about?" Ron asked angrily.

"He's doing it to make you angry."

"You sure that's all there is to it?" Her brother didn't seem too convinced.

Ginny rolled her eyes. "Oh no, we also shag on a regular basis and we're probably going to elope next week and then we're going to Japan for our honeymoon-"

"WHAT?!"

"Ron, I was being sarcastic."

"SARCASTIC?! You almost gave me a freaking heart attack!"

********************************************************

"What is it with you and Ginny?" she finally asked him a bit irritably through their mind bond later that day.

"Why? Jealous?"

"You're confusing her!" Ginny snapped, "And if you don't quit it, I think she's going to push you down the stairs soon."

"She would never do that." Draco said confidently.

Ginny's eyes flashed, "And why is that?" she asked coolly.

"She fancies me."

"..........."

"Actually, you'd probably be my first choice, but since you aren't too keen on telling me who you are...."

"Nice try. But do you honestly have to annoy Ginny so much?!"

"She likes it."

"Arrogant prick."

"Ow. That hurt, Blue Eyes."

"I still think she's going to push you down the stairs one of these days."

"It's kind of strange, in a sense," Draco suddenly mused, "We share this mind bond and yet, there's also something about Weasley that I can't quite place my finger on. It's almost like there's another invisible link between me and her."

"Damndamndamndamn," was the only thought running through Ginny's head when she heard that. However, all she said was, "Please don't tell me that there's an invisible connection between you and all the other girls in this school as well."

Draco sounded thoughtful. "You just may be onto something there."

"I am not sharing you with hundreds of other girls," Ginny huffed before she realized what she had just thought out loud. Her cheeks reddened and for once, she was glad that Draco didn't know who she was.

"I knew it," Draco smirked, "But I'd hurry up if I were you - there's lots of girls waiting behind you."

"Oh shut up."

****************************************************

A smile played on Ginny's lips as she threw herself down onto a seat in front of the roaring fire in Gryffindor Common Room. Beside her, Hermione was busy scribbling away on her Potions essay.

"You seem happy tonight." Hermione remarked as she paused her writing to reach for a textbook.

"I just talked with Draco." Ginny smiled, "You wouldn't believe it, but he's quite an interesting guy - when he's not in one of his rotten moods." Her smile faded.

"But at least you two can have a civil conversation," pointed out Hermione, "Which is much more than I can say for Ron and him."

"I think Ron suspects something," Ginny twirled a lock of her hair around a finger, "But thankfully he's usually too occupied with other matters to notice."

Instead of replying, the other girl simply gave her a long look.

"Ginny," Hermione began slowly, "Do you realize how long you and Draco have been bonded together?"

"Um....A month?"

"No, the two of you have been bonded together for at least two and a half months already."

Ginny's eyes widened, "But that would mean...how long is the bond supposed to last anyways?"

"It's supposed to last three weeks."

Ginny opened her mouth, but no sound came out. Finally, she managed to regain control of her vocal cords. "So that means...." she trailed off.

"Remember when I told you that the bond only strengthened in extremely rare cases?" Hermione looked at her thoughtfully, "Usually that only happens in the case of soulmates."

"You're kidding me."

Hermione shook her head.

"So if I accidentally cursed Neville instead of Draco, Neville'll be my soulmate instead?"

"It doesn't work that way," Hermione said softly, "It the person you're bonded isn't your soulmate, then the bond will fade on its own after three weeks time."

"Well," Ginny smiled tightly, "I bet Draco's going to love hearing that."

******************************************************

Ginny had always wondered what would happen if Draco ever found out that she was the voice in his head. Inwardly, she knew that he would find out eventually, but a nagging fear of his reaction stopped her everytime she wanted to tell him the truth.

The dreaded moment came rather abruptly.

"I don't have time for this!" Ginny cursed as the staircase she was on suddenly started moving. Although in this case, it wasn't so much the problem of where in the castle she was ending up as it was the other person on the same staircase with her.

"Grow up, Weasley." sneered Draco as he quickly grabbed onto the banister, "It's not as though I like being stuck a few feet away from you anyways."

At the moment the staircase reattached itself to a familiar corridor with a jolt.

"Oh yeah, you think I like hearing your voice in my head all day long?!" Ginny hissed at him as he brushed past her.

It was only after the words left her mouth that Ginny realized that she had just made a serious mistake and her eyes widening in fear. Meanwhile, Draco had froze on the last step. Slowly he turned around and she gulped when she noticed the look on his face approaching the intensity of a thunderstorm.

"You..." His eyes narrowed, "So you're-"

"I can explain!" she blurted out, "I-" A cold chill shot down her spine when she saw Draco's hands curl up into a fist. When he took a step down towards her, she panicked.

(When Draco teased her about it much later, she simply retorted that he hadn't looked all the friendly anyways.

"What was I supposed to do? Run up and give you a kiss?"

"That wouldn't have been a bad idea. After all," Draco placed a trail of kisses down her neck, "One can never have too much practise.")

Grabbing her wand, she aimed it at his head and yelled. "Stupefy!"

The curse missed his head by a few inches, but before Draco could react, Ginny had already fled down the stairs.

***************************************************

Ginny spent the next while avoiding Draco by arriving super early for breakfast, skipping lunch and dinner, sneaking down to the kitchens for food, racing as fast as possible to each class and otherwise spending all other times in Gryffindor tower. It also helped that she knew Draco's schedule so she usually able to avoid meeting him in the hallways when classes weren't in session.

One night about two weeks later, as Ginny was heading down to the kitchens, she couldn't help but feel as though there were a pair of eyes watching her. Glancing suspiciously around the empty hallways, she reminded herself that the Slytherin had a Quidditch practise that evening so it couldn't possibly be Draco...

About a few doors from the secret entrance to the kitchens, she felt something pull on her arm. Before she realized what happen, she found herself in one of those seldomly used classrooms Hogswarts seemed to have so much of.

As the door locked behind her, she felt herself panicking.

"Who's there?" she asked sharply, trying to mask her fear. "Lumos!"

The candles in the room lit up and Ginny was mystified - there was nobody else in here! The lights from the candles cast a pattern of shadows on the walls and she turned slowly, her senses alert.

A chuckle to her left almost caused her to jump three feet into air.

Suddenly, a black-sleeved arm appeared in the air, followed by the silvery cloth of an invisibility cloak. Seconds later, she found herself staring at a familiar face with piercing grey eyes, silvery blond hair and the trademark scowl.

Ginny bit back a curse.

Neither of them spoke and Ginny avoided making eye contact with the boy in front of her.

"I'm sorry I didn't tell you earlier," Ginny finally said wearily as the silence became unbearable, "I didn't mean to throw that curse at you, I just panicked," I'm sorry about the mind bond, look, it was an accident, I didn't even know until a week later, I never told anyone what you told me-"

She stopped rambling abruptly when he tilted her head up, so her gaze was no longer resting on the ground. Ginny bit her lip as she finally looked at him and she was surprised that, instead of angry expression she had been expecting, he seemed almost...amused?

"Granger already told me the whole story," he said softly.

"Hermione told you?!" Ginny was speechless.

"It wasn't easy, but I didn't exactly have a choice now, did I?" Draco said coolly, "I think someone's been avoiding me these past while or so."

"I thought that you'd be mad," she mumbled, lowering her eyes.

"I still am." His voice was cold.

Ginny winced inwardly. She should have known that by avoiding him, she was only delaying the inevitable.

"So what do you want me to do?" she whispered.

Draco didn't reply, at least, not with words. Instead, he dipped his head down and captured her lips in a kiss.

Ginny was too shocked to respond at first, but as he deepened the kiss, her eyes fluttered shut and slowly, she began to respond to his kiss.

When they finally broke apart for air, Ginny held tightly onto his shoulders for fear her legs would soon give way beneath her. The smug expression on Draco's face indicated that he was all too aware of the effect the kiss had had on her.

Draco pressed his forehead against hers. "Does that answer your question?" he drawled.

Ginny stared at him, wondering how she was supposed to answer his question. "What's kind of an answer is that supposed to be?!" she couldn't help but think to herself irritably, "Does he have to make everything so damn confusing?!"

"I thought you prefer mysterious, brooding guys?" he thought back cheekily, startling the redhead.

"Draco?" Ginny thought back tentatively. It had been weeks since she'd last talked to him through their bond and it was only now that she finally realized how much she'd missed their mental conversations.

"That would be my name, yes," he thought dryly.

He was pleasantly surprised when she immediately gave him a tight hug. "I missed you."

"Missed you too, Blue Eyes."

*******************************************

"So..." Ginny looked up at him uncertainly, "Does this mean..."

"Well, I did enjoy your suggestion," She raised an eyebrow as his lips curved into a smirk, "The one where we start shagging on a regular basis and then elope..." Here he scowled, "But we are NOT going to Japan for our honeymoon! Do you know how hard it is to get any privacy with those flimsy paper doors?!"

Ginny's cheeks reddened and she squeezed her eyes shut. "You weren't meant to hear that!" she wailed mentally, forgetting that Draco was privy to her thoughts, "I was just trying to get on Ron's nerves that time! I wasn't serious!"

"You sure about that?"

Ginny glared at him. "Quit reading my mind, damnit!"

"Hey!" Draco protested with a wounded look on his face, "I didn't complain when you wouldn't get out of my mind for the last few months...and quit messing up my hair." he added with a scowl.

She just rolled her eyes at him. "Narcisstic prat."

"Is that anyway to treat your boyfriend?"

"You are not funny, Malfoy."

"You know that you'll probably be joining the family later anyways," Draco said casually, "So you should get used to that name."

"You shouldn't joke about stuff like that."

"Malfoys don't joke." Draco's serious expression was ruined by the smirk playing on his lips. "Besides, you know all my secrets already and we can't have you blabbing them all over the school..."

"I do not-"

Draco stopped her protests with another long kiss.

A thought occured to Ginny when the two of them finally broke apart, “This is kind of strange, don’t you think?" she said tentatively.

"What do you mean?"

She gave him a meaningful look, "You realize that we've just gone from not talking to full out snogging under an hour..."

"This is to make up for the last two weeks you've been avoiding me," Draco glared at her, "Not to mention, all that snogging sessions we've missed out on..."

Ginny snorted. "This from the guy who said people aren't expected to have a long conversation in the middle of a good snogging session."

Draco blinked and then his lips curved into his trademark smirk, "All you had to do was ask..."

"No!" Ginny pushed him back weakly, "We're not done yet!"

"Why not?" demanded Draco irritably.

She looked at him suspiciously. "This isn't just so that you can rub it in Ron's face, is it?"

"That's a benefit, not a reason," he corrected and then he added, "And besides, let's not forget the huge risks that I'm taking here."

"Your parents?" she asked softly.

"No, I can just imagine your six crazy brothers and Potter each wanting a square meter of skin off of me."

"They try and I'll force-feed them canary puffs."

"No curses?"

"Nope." She grinned at him, "Those are for you."

"Thank Merlin you stink at memorizing curses."

Ginny reached out to slap him, but Draco simply grabbed her arm and her retorts were muffled as he pressed his lips against hers once again.

Fin.

And this concludes my first completed chaptered fanfic! :D Thanks to everyone that's read this fic and especially to those who took the time to leave a comment!! ^^